Ouvrage Schoenenbourg

Ouvrage Schoenenbourg
Part of Maginot Line
Northeast France
Ammunition entrance, Block 7
Ouvrage Schoenenbourg
Coordinates	48°58′00″N 7°54′43″E / 48.96667°N 7.91194°E / 48.96667; 7.91194
Site information
Controlled by	France
Open to the public	Yes
Condition	Preserved
Site history
Built by	CORF
Materials	Concrete, steel, deep excavation
Battles/wars	Battle of France, Lorraine Campaign

Ouvrage Schoenenbourg
Type of work:	Large artillery work (Gros ouvrage)
sector └─sub-sector	Fortified Sector of Haguenau └─Péchelbronn
Work number:	O 800
Constructed:	1932
Regiment:	22nd Fortress Infantry Regiment (RIF), 156thPosition Artillery Regiment (RAP)
Number of blocks:	8
Strength:	17 officers, 490 enlisted
Localisation

Ouvrage Schoenenbourg is a Maginot Line fortification. It is located on the territory of the communes of Hunspach, Schœnenbourg and Ingolsheim, in the French département of Bas-Rhin, forming part of the Fortified Sector of Haguenau, facing Germany. At the east end of the Alsace portion of the Maginot Line, its neighbour is the gros ouvrage Hochwald. It is the largest such fortification open to the public in Alsace. Officially recorded as an historical monument, it retains all its original structural elements. Schoenenbourg was heavily bombarded during the Battle of France in 1940, receiving more enemy ordnance than any other position in France, with no significant damage. In 1945, retreating German troops used explosives to destroy much of the ouvrage. After the war it was fully repaired and placed back into service as part of a programme to use Maginot fortifications to resist a potential Warsaw Pact advance through Europe. By the 1970s the plan had lost favour and funding, and Schoenenboug was abandoned. In 1987 a local organisation undertook Schoenenbourg's preservation, and today it is open to public visitation.